Oranim College has an outstanding record of achievement in the fields of teacher education and professional development, spanning the last sixty years. Since its earliest days and modest beginnings, Oranim has developed and consistently maintained a national reputation as one of the country’s leading educational training institutions.

Leadership in Education

In 1938, in pre-state Israel, the pioneering teacher and environmentalist Yehoshua Margolin envisioned establishing a northern branch of the Kibbutz Seminar for Teaching, on a rural campus close to hundreds of kibbutzim. The site he chose was Tivon in the Lower Galilee, northeast of Haifa, on a majestic hilltop covered with pine trees that overlooks the Carmel mountain range.

In 1951, Seminar Oranimwas officially founded and was among the first teaching institutes in Israel. Its goal was to train educators for nursery schools, preschools, elementary schools, youth work, and work with new immigrants. For the first 40 years, Oranim was part of the Kibbutz Movement and educated most of the staff that taught in kibbutz schools.

In the mid-1990’s, Oranimmade a dramatic transition, when it was formally accredited as an academic college of education by the Israeli Council for Higher Education. It opened its doors to students from all walks of life, expanded its vision and goals, established new degree and certificate programs, and developed new tracks within existing programs. Since then, the college has helped professionalize the field of education, and offers academic and professional training for 5000 in-service and future teachers every year.

Oranim Today

In recent years, interest in the college has grown, as more young adults choose education as their vocation and see the value of earning an academic degree and receiving professional training. There are unique programs and specialized educational tracks that distinguish Oranim from other teaching colleges, and from all other academic institutions. The college attracts students from a wide geographic area; with the extension of the Trans-Israel Highway, the campus is more accessible to faculty and students from the center of the country, including Jerusalem and metropolitan Tel Aviv, and the South.

Today, Oranim Academic College of Education is the leading college of education in the North of Israel, catering to thousands of students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, teaching certification courses, and advanced career training. Many of our graduates continue their studies through pursuing advanced degrees and training, both in Israel and overseas.

Oranim's Mission

Oranim's mission is to promote excellence in education, by training the finest teachers, counselors, and educational leaders for formal and informal educational settings. Our graduates teach in high schools, elementary schools, preschools, boarding schools, and informal community settings, helping to educate young people to become responsible and productive adults.

Our goal is to train teachers to bring out the full potential of each and every student and to help them become more active and enthusiastic, stronger learners. We strive to prepare our graduates for an ever-changing, multi-cultural world, by teaching the values of living together, tolerance, and respecting diverse ideas and beliefs.